From Me to You
by ayanamirei00
Summary: My first fanfic! SPOILERS FOR EPISODES 22 AND 23. A re-visit of Rei and Asuka's relationship. This is NOT shoujo-ai, or yuri. Forgive me if some of the characters are OOC. Rated T for language.


From Me to You

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion and all of its properties belongs to Hideaki Anno, Studio Gainax, Studio Khara, TV Tokyo, Tatsunoko Production and Nihon Ads System.  
If Neon Genesis Evangelion belonged to me, KaworuxShinji would be canon. That is all. -_-

**WARNING: Spoilers for episodes 22 and 23.**

The pale light of daybreak streaked through the Nerv hospital windows. The silence of the hallway was disrupted by resonating footsteps. The Second Child, Asuka Langley Soryu, was discharged after her incident with the 15th Angel, Zeruel. She recollected the memory of her Evangelion Unit-02 being dismembered. Of how Unit-01 went berserk and killed Zeruel. Most importantly, she remembered that Shinji beat her yet again, in both combat victories and sync ratios.

At this point, she stopped and glared at her reflection in one of the multiple hospital windows. In contrast to the serene view of New Tokyo-3 bathed in the sunlit mist, Asuka felt every inch of her body blush with rage and shame over the defeat.

"I lost...to that Angel...to that idiot Shinji..."

A brief image of the First Child, Rei Ayanami, flashed through her memories.

At the culmination of her fury, her fist reeled and struck her reflection in the window, cracking it in the process. A single shard fell to the floor, making a dim echo.

"I'll be damned if I lose to the likes of you again..." She didn't seem to notice her blood trickling down her hand and dripping onto the broken shards.

The rest of the day went about in the usual routine of the Nerv employees and the Eva pilots. Evangelion Unit-01 was still on lockdown after the aforementioned Angel incident and Evangelion Unit-02 was undergoing repairs. Since the umbilical bridge was currently occupied, Asuka stood at a distance. One of the Eva's arms was almost reassembled. She glanced around a little and noticed Unit-01 in its cage. A shudder tore through her. The way the exposed eye was peeking through the bandaged face gave her an ominous feeling that it was watching her every move. At last, she saw Unit-00. The left arm was replaced and, on closer inspection, she noticed Gendo Ikari moving away from the umbilical bridge. Unit-00's pilot, Rei, was in tow. Asuka glared at Rei and left the area.

Her irritation continued throughout the night. Misato was still at Nerv Headquarters and Shinji was still absorbed into Unit-01, so she was alone for the night at Misato's apartment. After failing her tenth attempt at falling asleep, Asuka extended her bandaged hand towards the ceiling.

_Why do I pilot Eva? Why do I continue to do this even though it causes me pain?_

_Why am I doing this? For whom am I doing this? Mama? Kaji? Myself?_

As she slowly lowered her hand, a dark chuckle escaped from her throat.

"Now I'm really starting to sound like that idiot Shinji"

Through the dim moonlight, she noticed her bandage was starting to turn red.

The next morning, Asuka awoke to an empty apartment, which meant that Misato was already at Nerv Headquarters. Later there was to be another synchro test, which further dragged her confidence. Having forgone breakfast, she found herself walking subconsciously towards the facility. After changing into her plugsuit, Asuka found her way into the test room, where Ritsuko and Misato were already waiting.

Settling herself into the entry plug, she inwardly gagged at the sight of the slowly rising LCL. Even though she's been trained for years, Asuka (not like she'd ever admit it) never quite got used to the sensation. The interior lights illuminated the plug, beginning the test.

"How terrible, her test scores are worse than yesterday's." Even from within the LCL-filled plug, Asuka could hear Ritsuko's voice clearly. "Asuka's...feeling bad today. She recently started her period." said Misato. In a somewhat cold and matter-of-fact tone, Ritsuko retorted, "Sync ratios are not affected by external bodily disorders." Asuka froze at that last word. She hated hearing words like that. It made her remember visiting her mother in the hospital. Especially the time she-

Shaking the awful memories out of her head, Asuka tried to concentrate again. Twenty minutes later, the test concluded. With the results of her test fresh in her mind, she stood in front of the elevator. Once the doors opened, she found herself face-to-face with Rei.

_Great, just what I needed_

Shooting a glare at Rei, she strode inside. As the elevator ascended, the two stood in dead silence, neither of them facing each other. When the awkward tension became unbearable, Rei spoke up.

"If you don't open your heart, the EVA won't move"

Not one to take sympathy lightly, Asuka spat back, "Are you saying my heart is closed off?!"

"Yes, the EVAs have a mind of their own."

"That puppet?!"

"You should know that already."

Asuka snapped, "To hear you say something like that, maybe it'll snow tomorrow."

"..."

"What?! Are you happy that I can't pilot EVA? When an Angel comes, Shinji will defeat it for us! We don't have to do anything! They don't need us anymore, they only need Shinji!"

"..."

Finally letting off steam, she continued her rant again. "Not only Shinji, but the emotionless doll is also feeling sympathy for me."

"I'm not a doll." Rei responded.

"SHUT UP! You're always doing exactly as you're told! If Commander Ikari ordered you to, you'd kill yourself!"

Facing towards her, Rei said, "I would do that." She saw red. Transferring every ounce of strength into her hand, she slapped Rei straight across the face.

At last, the elevator stopped at the 8th floor. Nearly prying the doors open herself, Asuka backed out, wanting to get away from Rei. "I honestly wish you'd drop dead!" The doors closed behind her. Left alone in the empty hallway, Asuka ran off, eyes stinging with tears.

_Why did I say that?_

Rei stood alone in the elevator. Slowly bringing a hand to her cheek, she slightly winced at the painful sting. She recalled Asuka's last words. Only the words "drop dead" resounded in her memory.

"Even if I did, it wouldn't make a difference to you, would it?"

End of Chapter 1


End file.
